Jim Harbaugh confirms 'third base' remark was about Ryan Day; Ohio State coach comments at press conference

Michigan Wolverines football beat down Ryan Day‘s Ohio State Buckeyes 42-27 in Ann Arbor last season. After the game, Wolverine head coach Jim Harbaugh, the 2021 AP Coach of the Year, said, “Some people who are standing on third base think they hit a triple, but they didn’t,” in response to a question about bulletin-board material and how much it spurred the Maize and Blue on.

That offended Ohio State fans and Buckeye media who assumed the shot was at Day, who was handed a winning program in 2019, after former OSU head man Urban Meyer resigned in disgrace (Meyer was the second full-time Buckeye head coach in a row to step down amid controversy, joining Jim Tressel after the 2010 campaign).

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Harbaugh gave a “no comment” at July’s Big Ten Media Days as to whether or not the remark was about Day. However, appearing on 97.1 The Ticket’s morning show with Mike Stone and Jon Jansen Tuesday, Harbaugh revealed the comment was in fact about Day.

“It was definitely a counterpunch by me to the comment of, they’re going to hang 100 on us, etc.,” Harbaugh said. “Kind of like a Sugar Ray Robinson.”

In 2020, Harbaugh reportedly accused Ohio State of breaking rules during a Big Ten coaches conference call, before Day replied with, “How about I worry about my team, and you worry about yours?”

During a team meeting following the call, Day reportedly told his players, “Michigan better hope for a mercy rule this year because we are going to hang 100 on them.”

The Ohio State head coach, who called plays for an offense that hung 27 points in an embarrassing loss at Michigan last year (the first meeting between the two teams since 2019), was asked about the “insult” at his Tuesday press conference ahead of this year’s game (Saturday at noon ET on FOX).

“I’m not going to talk about it right now, but there’s another time to hit on that,” Day said. “There are certain things you listen to, there are certain things you don’t. And any time you’re in a high-profile game with a lot of stuff going on, there are a lot of things said. There’s a time and a place to talk about that, and it’s not now.”

After Michigan out-rushed Ohio State 297 yards to 64 in last year’s game, former Wolverines offensive coordinator Josh Gattis said on the ‘Inside Michigan Football’ radio show that the Buckeyes are a “finesse” program.

Day was asked about all of the comments calling into question his team’s toughness following the loss.

“When you’re playing in a game like this, there’s always going to be back and forth and things said,” Day explained. “Obviously, you see things and read things, but there’s also a lot of it you try to ignore. But sometimes it matters who says it, too, and how much consideration you give it.

“But at the end of the day, we got beat in that game, and we had to figure out why that was. A lot of people have opinions when you lose a game, and we had to identify what was real and what wasn’t, and try to go from there. We certainly don’t get caught up in other peoples’ opinions; we cherish ours and try to make great decisions on how to move forward, and that’s what we did.”

It’s all about the preparation this week, Day said, even though he admitted that losing to Michigan did “scar” his team and motivate it all offseason and up to this point.

“That’s what we’re going to focus on — physically, mentally and emotionally — to play the hardest game we’ve ever played,” Day added. “We’ll find out what we’re at on Saturday.”

In some ways, Saturday’s game will be viewed as a referendum on Day, who’s 1-1 against Michigan as Ohio State’s head coach, and the program’s trajectory. The Buckeyes have lost just four times during his tenure, but Day admitted the program is judged on big games. He understands there is pressure but said it’s not any different because of last year’s result.

“I think any time you’re here and you’re playing in this game, you’re going to feel it — it doesn’t matter what your record’s been,” Day said. “You feel it any time you’re at Ohio State because you know what’s on the line.

“We’re not gonna sit here and start to think about all that. We’re gonna just really focus on having a great week of preparation and playing really, really hard, and when it’s all said and done, we’ll look back and kinda see where all the tally marks are.

“To me, this has nothing to do with anything other than this team and just preparing this team to play as hard as it possibly can on Saturday, and then go from there.”